saints, like Mother Teresa, are brothers and sisters ‘witnesses of luminous paths’

On the solemnity of All Saints and the proclamation of the Beatitudes, “the path to holiness”, the pontiff recalled that war is “despicable, because it is the triumph of lies.” The call for Chad, where a serious terrorist attack has occurred, and for the Valencian community hit by DANA, an “environmental catastrophe.” He also especially remembered the “153 women and children massacred a few days ago in Gaza.”

Vatican City () – “Today, the Solemnity of All Saints, Jesus proclaims in the Gospel (cf. Mt 5:1-12) the identity document of the Christian and the path to holiness,” Pope Francis explained to the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square on the occasion of the solemnity of All Saints that the Church celebrates today. The Pontiff thus wanted to remember the meaning of this feast, in which Christ “shows us a path, the path of love, which He Himself first traveled when becoming man.” He then recalled some figures of contemporary saints, such as Mother Teresa of Calcutta, in whom “we recognize brothers and sisters shaped by the Beatitudes.”

Returning to the words of Saint Paul, the Pope affirmed that it is “a gift from God” because “it is above all the Lord whom we ask to sanctify us” and “with his grace he heals us and frees us from everything that prevents us from loving as we do.” “He loves us.” The Pope cited the example of Blessed Carlo Acutis so that “in us there is always ‘less of me to leave room for God’.” The second point is instead “our response”, because God “offers us his holiness, but does not impose it on us”, making us “taste it and see its beauty, but then waits” and respects our ‘yes’”. “He allows us to follow his good inspirations, to allow ourselves to be involved in his projects, to make his feelings our own – he continued – placing ourselves, as He taught us, at the service of others, with an increasingly universal charity, open and directed to everyone, to the whole world.”

Finally, Francis recalled some figures of saints “even in our time”, such as “Saint Maximilian Kolbe, who in Auschwitz asked to take the place of a father condemned to death; or Saint Teresa of Calcutta, who dedicated her entire life to service of the poorest of the poor; or in Bishop Saint Óscar Romero, murdered at the altar for having defended the rights of the least against the abuses of the arrogant.” In them, as in many other saints, both “those we venerate on the altars” and those “next door, the hidden ones”, because in the Church there is a lot of “hidden holiness”, and he affirmed that it is important to recognize these people “full of God and shaped by the beatitudes: poor, meek, merciful, hungry and thirsty for justice, architects of peace. They are people “full of God”, incapable of remaining indifferent to the needs of their neighbors; they are witnesses – he concluded – of luminous paths, which are also possible for us”, that is why he invoked Mary, to “help us make our lives a path of holiness”.

After the Marian prayer, the Pope expressed his closeness and asked for prayers for the people of Chad, which has suffered a “serious terrorist attack” a few days ago, and for “the peoples of the Iberian Peninsula, especially the Valencian Community, overwhelmed by storm DANA”, “an environmental catastrophe”. “Our condolences – he stated – to the Valencian people.” Among the pilgrims and faithful in the square, the Pope greeted “the participants in the “Race of the Saints”, organized by the Don Bosco Missions Foundation. Dear friends, this year we are also reminded that the Christian life is a race, but “Not like the world runs, no! It is the race of a heart that loves. And thank you – he continued – for your support of the construction of a sports center in Ukraine.”

Regarding Ukraine, he once again asked for prayers for the country and its “tortured” people, as well as for “Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan, and for all the peoples who suffer because of wars. Brothers and sisters – He stated – war is always a defeat, always! And it is despicable, because it is the triumph of lies, of falsehood: it seeks the greatest interest for oneself and the greatest harm for the adversary, trampling on human lives, the environment, infrastructure, everything; and everything disguised with lies. And the innocent suffer – he concluded – of the 153 women and children massacred in recent days in Gaza.”

Finally, on the occasion of the annual commemoration of all the faithful departed, he announced that he will celebrate mass at the Laurentino cemetery in Rome.